The Walking Tree
by Heavywordsthrown2light
Summary: He just stared into the sea, petrified. It had been following him for days now. It lives in his nightmares, and he can't shake the feeling that just isn't going away.
1. Chapter 1 Tree

Steven looked outside, the beach seemed clear and the sky cloudless. He wondered what he might do, the Sun was setting soon, so he figured he'd just go for a walk. He's needed to think about all the madness that happened since Peridot 's escape from Kindergarten. He hasn't been able to sleep, he keeps having nightmares about Jasper, her eyes piercing him, as she and Lapis fell into the Ocean.

Amethyst ran out into town for her typical dose of underground wrestling. He sighed, wondering what might happen if they can't save the day. Who else can?

The Sun finally set, and Steven walked far into the boardwalk, it seemed to stretch on for an eternity. The clear sky fell victim to an all consuming fog, and Steven suddenly couldn't see a few feet in front of him. His head started hurting, he wiped his nose, and blood dripped from it.

A branch of some kind hit him, and he shot up, waking up.

The other gems had gone out, probably for a mission. Nightmares were the least of his troubles, he had a few missions they might take him to. He watched the warp pad. And watched it.

He looked nervously at the clock, it had been almost two hours, his mind grew frantic with worry. Maybe a gem monster ate them? He needed to see them. He tried looking for them. The front door opened. Amethyst walked in. "Amethyst, have you seen the others?"

The sudden bout of paranoia ran through him as Amethyst closed the door behind her. "Where've you been? Garnet went out looking for you!"

"What, I've been asleep the entire time." Steven suddenly felt a sense of dread, as if he'd done something wrong.

"Dude, we've been looking for you for days, Steven." Amethyst's typical joker personality had fallen off the cliff. She looked... Stressed, like Steven when he was up all night, watching TV after being unbanned.

Pearl burst through the door, "Steven!" She yelped as she dove into him, hugging him tightly. "Where on Earth have you been?"

Steven lied, "I was walking out to the boardwalk." He knew he was probably getting in trouble.

Garnet could see the confusion on his face. "How long have you been, 'walking.'"

"I dunno, I thought I was sleeping, then I just felt like taking a walk." Steven couldn't find any sort of explanation for what had happened.

"Don't walk around like that." Pearl gave him one last argument and began to lecture him on responsibility and not going out for too long. Steven's eyes fell on the shore, it was foggy, under the usual weather.

He didn't know what the branch was, everytime he tried to remember what he saw in the fog, his head hurt. He just nodded to everything she said.

Garnet looked at him odd, as he spent the entire day, staring out into the sea. "Still thinking about what happened? With Peridot?"

Steven shook his head, "I don't know what it is." He kept staring out into the sea.

Amethyst got up to watching it too. "What you watching?"

Steven stood in silence, not uttering a single syllable.

"Wanna watch something?" Amethyst tried to wave her hand in front of his face, "Earth to Steven, are you there?"

Steven looked... Scared, terrified, even. Amethyst looked out, but she just saw a sunny beach day, just like any other, save for a few clouds in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2 Visions

Amethyst was nearing the end of her wits, she tried to be a cat, a dog, a police officer, even a dog copter, nothing could shake him from that one point. "Pearl, Something's wrong with Steven."

Pearl turned to see Steven in the same position. "How long has he been like this?" She looked down, and saw nothing. The clouds had been broken into rain, and Steven stood there.

Steven looked on at it, the walking tree, its elongated arms, it's remarkable stature. But it was the face of it that was most shocking. Skeletal, and familiar. It gave a short rumble. Never moving, a watcher, in the distance.

Steven snapped out of it as Garnet yelled at him. "Sorry, I thought..." He decided to shrug it off.

"Saw what?" Garnet probed further, she needed to know what was wrong.

"I just can't stop thinking about it. The ship, the eyes." Steven was clearly not 'sleeping' enough, his eyes sagged and he even looked thinner.

Garnet tried to calm him, stroking his head. "It's okay, it's over, it won't happen again."

Steven couldn't sleep. He kept staring at the moon, and he swore he could see the skeletal face reflect off of it. The face belonged to Malachite. The four eyes gave the same pleased expression. The hair was ghostly, the color drained from it altogether. He was tired, but fought to stay awake, he needed to fight it off, at least until daybreak.

It wasn't long now... His eyelids fell and closed, heavy from burden, it was dawn, and it was safe to sleep. The waves sung him a lullaby as he fell victim to the pleasures of the silent sleep.

The face flickered in his sight, as he snapped back awake. It was over. He walked around, everything was fine, and felt warm. Morning, late morning, judging from the Sun being up so high. The waves crashed.

But he noticed something off the moment he began to look around. The Warp Pad was a shade off. The picture that hung on the wall was gone. The kitchen was empty, devoid of food. He opened the fridge to find it was empty. Dirt, rust, and dust covered it, as if no one had used it for years.

He was hungry, so he figured the Big Donut might have something to curb his appetite. He opened the door and only the waves could be heard. It was well into vacation season, so it was normal to hear a lot of people on the streets talking. But nothing, not even seagulls dare break the silence.

Steven held his head, it suddenly ached, and his eyes strained as his vision became fuzzy, almost like static on an old TV. He felt blood throb into his head as he looked around. It was close. It could be anywhere. After freezing in place, he turned around, shield held high.

But nothing was there. He continued moving towards the shop. No one was here. It had been a ghost town. The buildings adorned with cracked and peeling paint. It looked, bleak, colorless.

"Do you see, boy. This is what will happen, if you don't stop them..."

Steven turned around, and back again, shaky as he trembled from fear. "Who's there?"

"Nobody."

"What are you?" Steven's tone grew angry, desperate to know.

"Nothing."

Steven paused, his eyesight was normal, his pain subsided, but he knew that he needed to get back home. His real home.

"Come with me."

Steven walked a bit faster, looking behind him every few steps, making sure nothing was closely stalking.

"You're going nowhere."

"Leave me alone!" Steven flung his shield as it spun into the air, hitting a tree. "Wait a sec..."

It wasn't a tree. It was that, thing from his other nightmares. He walked a few steps backwards.

It looked on with its dead, colorless eyes. It moved forward, without walking, or even running. It was already next to him as he fell. He felt like clawing his eyes out, he was practically blind, his ears bloodied from the high volume static.

He closed his eyes, and he was home. Really home. He was too scared for relief. The people still commuted in the distance. He walked out, and saw flyers everywhere.

Boy, black hair, brown, starry eyes, short. Full name, Steven Quartz Universe. If you see this boy, contact this number.

It looked like Greg's phone number.

He felt weak, he was getting tired of this, and wasn't having it. "Just leave me alone!"

The Crystal Gems looked out, and they sprinted towards him; he'd been missing for about two weeks.

"Don't ever, EVER do that again!" Pearl squeezed him uncomfortably tight, as they all huddled together.

Steven felt tired, fatigued. It ached from even walking, and lack of sleep only made it worse. But it was his stomach. It throbbed am agonizing pain. He looked down through his shirt, his gem was fine, but he wasn't.


	3. Chapter 3 Possession

Everyone had been looking for him. "This isn't funny anymore, Steven. You need to tell us where you went." Garnet she bent down to his face, ready to hear about it.

Steven didn't want to. "I really don't want to talk about it..."

Garnet got a bit more assertive. "Steven!" She began to grab him, trying to get him to tell them what it was.

"Can we just forget it!" Steven yelled, almost to his voice cracking as he held his head, the image of it kept flashing in his head.

"We need to know, this isn't a joke!" Amethyst grew grave.

Pearl just looked down at him with worry, he was getting more and more hostile.

"No! No you don't." He took out his shield, he didn't want to, but something began to itch in the back of his head. It grew into a whisper, and began to scream.

"Kill them."

"No, please, stop saying that!" Steven began to hit himself, the gem's tried to stop him.

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl tried to comfort him. But the voice in his grew. It was yelling so loud, he couldn't even think straight.

He needed to tell them. "I keep hearing voices in my head."

The Crystal Gems looked down at him, with questions more than answers.

"What do they say Steven, voices?" Garnet took him back to the house.

Steven hesitated. He didn't want to sound crazy.

"Come on, go on." Amethyst took out a bag of popcorn.

"It said. To, kill." Steven felt ashamed of what was going on in his head.

Garnet looked to Pearl. "Steven needs a doctor. Does he have one?"

Pearl scrambled through papers next to the refrigerator, "I know it's somewhere in here...Found it."

"When was the last time he even went to the doctor?" Amethyst asked with Pearl level skepticism.

"Umm, oops." Pearl should've taken him four years ago for a round of shots.

"Doesn't matter, he needs a doctor." Garnet knew something was wrong with him, this wasn't him.

Pearl tried to look for a schedule, and got lost in a conversation about the doctor himself.

The doctor walked back out, "You might want to sit down, Miss?"

"Oh, Pearl." Pearl just didn't have a last name.

The doctor had a strange look. But he'd seen weirder. "Okay, Miss Pearl, is there any history of mental disorder in his family."

"Oh no, no one in his family has anything."

"Well, I might need to take a few more tests, did he always have a gem in his bellybutton?" The doctor just looked at it, scratching his head.

Pearl nodded. "It runs in the family."

"The doctor said to come back in a week or so, when the test results come back." Pearl had to explain to Garnet.

"Alright, let's go." The Crystal Gems left, as Steven followed.

Steven looked at the forest around the buildings. He could feel it again. The sound of static in the distance, the air grew cold. He shivered as the trees bent over. The branches swayed, creaking oh so slightly. "They're here."

The silhouette of the figure was visible. It's tendril like arms swayed, imitating branches on trees. It wore something, like a suit, with a tie. It looked on with the faces melting back and forth from one to another. It must've had a thousand arms, as it disappeared, and reappeared, closer. It was already a few feet away, as it towered over him, a gem could be seen at the belt, a pitch black.

They tried to get Steven to calm down, but it was useless. They made their way back to the city, and to the beach.

"The tree, it sings." Steven muttered as Pearl cradled him in her arms.

He was getting worse. Belligerent, he didn't even make actual words, just slurs of the words, tree, and, sing.

Pearl and Garnet tied him to the bed. "Sorry, we can't have you leaving."

Steven twitched. Then began to shake violently.

"Steven?" Pearl looked at him.

He began to shake violently, then jetted upwards. They tried to hold him, shock and fear raced through their minds.

His nose bled, and his head felt like it could explode.

Pearl watched Steven, now she had a good reason to do so. She looked down on him, his eyes baggy, his eyes bloodshot. His nose bled profusely. It looked like he was beaten up by someone. Bruises lined his limbs, probably from him hurting himself. He tried to sleep, but it wasn't enough.

"P-Pearl, can you, tell me a... Story?" Steven twitched again, ending faster. But it was happening more often.


	4. Chapter 4 Drowning

Pearl looked at the dysfunctional boy, and she felt tears well up. He was dying, and they didn't know why.

"Please?" His eyes begged like a puppy. His eyes glassy, with stars.

Pearl tried to tell him a story between sniffles. "Well, it goes like this..."

...

Amethyst looked out at the beach, and tried to see what was bothering Steven so much, why he would stare endlessly out to sea. She focused hard to it, trying to see what she couldn't, but he could see perfectly.

Garnet looked down at Amethyst. "You too?"

"No, I just don't get it. Why us." She looked back at the shore. "Why, him."

Garnet looked out. She kissed Amethyst's forehead, and she watched the vision.

It was all static. "What's going on?" Amethyst looked up to Garnet, who looked down in a strange mix of fear and sadness.

"Ever since he's been like that, I haven't been able to see it." Garnet had a tint of angst and frustration in her voice. "I just keep seeing a tree."

Amethyst's eyes widened, and she got up and stomped off towards the temple. "It isn't a tree."

Pearl lectured that same boring story from her dream, and Steven was knocked out soon enough.

She relaxed, looking down at Steven as she watched him sleep. Pearl still couldn't shake how much he looked like Rose. Same nose, same calm, sleeping expression. Almost as if she was sleeping instead.

But something broke the silence. A snort, then moan. Steven shot up to the ceiling as if something grabbed him and threw him up there. The sound of choking began, as Steven began to strangle himself. Hu off hand clawing at his own gem.

Pearl held back a yelp, as Amethyst entered in a hurry, Garnet jumping through the window, slamming Steven, trying to restrain his arms, as he flailed and made clicking noises.

"Steven, wake up!" Garnet shook him, Amethyst cranked her arm and slapped him in the face.

Pearl grabbed him, "I know what to do." She looked to the docks.

Steven felt three people holding him down, as the Tree grabbed his arms and played around with them.

"Why are you hitting yourself?" It gave a hearty laugh.

"Let go, stop, why are you doing this." Steven tried fighting back, but it was too strong to out muscle.

"You should've kept her in the mirror, Rose."

"I'm not Rose, I'm Steven." He protested as he tried to shake the monsters from him.

They suddenly lifted him over what looked like water, and they began to drown him.

"Breathe in, give in."

Steven fought off the burning in his lungs. He couldn't last much longer.

"You did this!" He looked down and saw a disfigured Malachite forcing itself apart. He heard a crunch as the Ocean sank it in deeper, trying to keep it down.

He couldn't hold much longer. He choked as the water filled his lungs, and the air seeped out.

His eyes opened as six arms pulled him out of the water.

Steven was alert, but his eyes sagged deeper, and he could barely lift his own body off the ground. The water leaked out of his lungs as he breathed in air.

Pearl nudged Amethyst, "I told you not to keep him underwater for so long!"

"The important thing is that Steven's awake, and okay." Amethyst told the much taller gem.

Garnet held his face up by his cheeks. "What did you see?"

Steven looked at the three of them in fear. His guardians just tried to drown him. He stepped back.

"Grab my hand, Steven, isn't it clear they don't want you anymore?"

Garnet held out her own hand. "Steven, we know something is controlling you, we can help you fight it."

"Why were you drowning me?" Steven looked out at the Ocean, as the free hand of the tree stuck out of the water like a washed out twig.

"Come to the water, Steven." It began to talk like Lapis.

Steven looked at it, trembling from the fear that began to choke him. He summoned his shield, "Stay back!"

Garnet waved her hands down. "Put the shield down, Steven, we aren't trying to hurt you. We'd never hurt you."

Steven felt the branch get closer. It grabbed him and he black out.

"Get away from me, you shameless display!" Steven suddenly lashed out at them.

Garnet felt her anger rise, she didn't understand why he said something like that. But she couldn't get mad at Steven.

"Steven, chill out!" Amethyst quickly came to her defense.

Steven pointed it towards her. "You too, don't get near me."

Amethyst tried to keep him calm by making a joke. "Geez, you look tired, we should go back home."

"Don't tell me what to do, accident!" Steven yelled at her even louder.

Amethyst felt tears begin to well up, and she was already tempted to take out her whip. With a growl she got closer.

Pearl stopped her. "Steven, it's us, what's gotten into you?"

"It's always something wrong with me." Steven glared at her. "She's here, with us." He grinned.

Pearl knew what Steven was saying,but she ignored it. "Let's go home."

"Wow." Rose's voice came through as she laughed at her. "You are possibly the worst out of all of them! I love how you follow me around, but honestly, I think I'll settle with Greg-"

Pearl snapped.

Pearl took him by the shirt and threw him at the shore.

"PEARL!" Both Garnet and Amethyst tried to stop her, but she was hell bent now.

The rage in her hit her brain, over taking all rational thought. She took out her spear and stepped on him.

Steven looked back at her, the real Steven. He had a look, that same fearful look. He looked down at his, arm, broken in at least five different places. "Pearl. You're hurting me."

Pearl dropped her spear, and looked down, she couldn't believe what she did. She grabbed Steven carefully.

He painfully shuffled away, afraid of what she could do to him next.

The other Crystal Gems looked down at him, as they carefully helped him up.

Garnet and Amethyst trying to calm him down, but it was obvious he was petrified.


	5. Chapter 5 Indivisible

It was there, Steven could still see the tree, wrapping around the lamp posts. It inched closer and closer. The other gems soon came to his aid. But they couldn't save him. He was beyond saving.

"Pearl!" Amethyst screamed as she carried Steven, limp and unconscious, towards the temple.

Pearl had retreated to her room, swaying back and forth. She just kept going, she couldn't believe what she just did. She hurt Steven. She pulled her hair out of place, the stress visibly strained her skin and hair. She looked two human decades older, and she cried with a pathetic whimper.

Steven seemed to get better, finally eating, never staring out into the sea. He wore a smile on his face, one they hadn't seen in so long. But even he knew something was off. Pearl locked herself up in her room. They all tried calling to her, Amethyst's room was belie hers, maybe she could slip into her room.

She wasn't ready for what she saw.

Pearl was there. But something was wrong. She was laughing, fidgeting in a fetal position. She held a sword right where her gem is. "Don't come any closer." It wasn't Pearl, it couldn't be. The water around her turned an awful green salty abyss, like the bottom of the Ocean.

She turned around, she was putting tally marks on her gem. The sword was held perpendicular to her face, as if she was going to...

Amethyst stopped dead in her tracks. "I know you're upset and all, but you don't have to do this."

"I lost control, I'm not... Perfect." She took the sword and drew it back.

Amethyst reached for her whip as Pearl impaled her gem. She poofed and her gem fell, cracked severely. Amethyst covered her mouth, holding back a cry, but her eyes strained to cry.

She began to reform, as her body twisted and contorted, it looked like some kind of monster, like a tree.

Amethyst woke up, crying Pearl's name as she darted awake.

Steven, Garnet, and Pearl all ran to her. Each one looking fine, Pearl not even scratched, her ageless face still not withered by stress. Her hair not faded and disorderly. She gave a sigh of relief, like the weight of the Earth just lifted off of her chest. "It wasn't real."

Everyone else went off to their usual day, but Garnet stayed back. "What did you see?"

"It doesn't matter, just a bad dream." Amethyst gave a halfhearted smile.

Amethyst swore Garnet was a lie detector, she knew she was lying. "What are you hiding? It is 'just a dream' right?"

Amethyst felt under siege, she felt her three eyes probing her expression, trying to look into her eyes. She gave away to the pressure. "I saw it. A tree, and Pearl, she..." Amethyst began to spurt nonsense as she explained through body language. Her eyes foggy from tears as she let it all out and just sat there sobbing.

Garnet took Amethyst and hugged her, patting her head. "Nothing is wrong with her, but I think I might know what's been doing this all this time. Why Steven was acting strange and that weird dream you had."

Garnet went into her room and came out with an empty bubble, "The cluster was in here."

Amethyst looked up at Garnet's stoic face, devoid of emotion, but her eyes would probably have said otherwise. "That... Thing you found over there, at Kindergarten?"

Garnet gave a slight nod, 'I couldn't see it, it must be trying to find a stable body..."

"Steven..." Amethyst put two and two together.

Garnet looked around. "It could be anywhere."


End file.
